


Nine Shots to no Avail

by ShutUpGinger (Chameowmile)



Series: Old Stories [2016] [9]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: I just needed an excuse to write sleep deprived Kylo, M/M, Modern AU, Ren certainly doesn't know, WHAT IS SLEEP, an irresponsible idiot and his mildly responsible mastermind of a boyfriend, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 14:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6119104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chameowmile/pseuds/ShutUpGinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ren is hardly the best employee ever, but even Hux can tell when he's being <em>more</em> apathetic than usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nine Shots to no Avail

**Author's Note:**

> So I actually totally wrote this like a month ago but didn't feel like editing it until now.  
> It's inspired by Kromitar and Rraffeh's Coffee Shop AU on Tumblr: http://kromitar.tumblr.com/tagged/first-order-coffee-au
> 
> Anyway, enjoy and thanks for reading uvu
> 
> This is honestly my favorite AU in the fandom  
> I must have written this in a better state of mind than I have been in a long time, because the sentences are actually comprehensible and not a weird jargon of my ADHD and sleep deprivation.

The last thing Ren needs is more coffee, but as far as his self control goes, it seems that any time they empty the stale coffee from the pot, he takes a cup. And since they do that hourly, or whenever he _ruins_ a pot, he’s on seven now, not counting the two espressos he bought on top of that, and the strawberry frappucino from earlier.

  
Oddly, Hux doesn’t think he even ate lunch or took a break.

  
He checks the clock, noting that Ren’s been gone approximately half an hour, despite the fact that all he was told to do in the back was get a bottle of hazelnut syrup, and frowns.

  
Ren is an idiot, yes.

  
Ren is messy, yes.

  
Ren is _irresponsible_ , yes.

  
But Ren isn’t really the sort to blatantly slack off and hide in the back room for no reason.

  
Usually he just does that in plain sight (ie. Ren sorts a bunch of rainbow sprinkles by color and then dunks the cannolis in them for literally no reason).

  
Still, on his _most_ absent-minded days, Ren is usually up and out the door the second his shift ends, before Hux can tie him down with cleanup duty, and since his shift ended approximately three minutes ago, he really should have made an appearance by now.

  
Hux knits his brows thoughtfully, and walks over to the door, where he flips the sign to “closed”, and then turns off the lights in the seating area, before turning away to go find Ren.

  
The backroom is dimly lit, as is often the case in the evening when they aren’t going in and out all the time, but something keeps Hux from turning the light back on immediately as he makes his way through.

  
Ren is easy enough to find, meaning he’s not hiding or tragically locked in the cooler freezing to death like he was last week, but Hux doesn’t see the current situation as much of an improvement to that.

  
In fact, he’s just sitting on a stepstool behind the ice machine, drooling like an idiot as he sits in a less than comfortable position propped up between the wall and a shelf.

  
Hux grimaces.

  
Nine servings of caffeine and he still fell asleep in the middle of his shift.

  
He notes with mild amusement that Ren apparently _did_ get the bottle of syrup while he was back here, and sees that the glass bottle dangling from the other man’s fingers, where he gently retrieves it before it can shatter and give them a repeat of last Summer’s ant infestation.

  
At that, Ren jolts awake, nearly kneeing Hux in the process as he clumsily tries to right himself and instead gets his right leg twisted in his apron, causing him to slam back against the wall and only barely avoid hitting his head against the ice machine as his stool is knocked out from under him and he falls with a thud.

  
Hux manages an impatient growl as he protectively shields the glass bottle from imminent destruction, and finally puts it up on a shelf, out of reach of the dazed idiot in front of him.

  
“You are an OSHA nightmare, Ren! What on Earth are you doing back here?!”

  
Ren, wide-eyed and pale, scrambles upright clumsily, wringing his hands out in his apron, as he guiltily makes a point of avoiding eye contact.

  
“I was, uh, getting the syrup…”

  
“Half an hour ago! Your shift’s been over for five minutes!”

  
“M...my what?!” He looks incredibly confused, and if Hux had more faith in his ability to lie, he’d have thought the barista was just playing dumb and trying to get out of trouble.

  
But he doesn’t. So that means he’s really just incredibly out of it.

  
Hux looks him over, from crooked hairnet to ripped jeans, and sighs, rubbing his temple.

  
“Get your coat on, I’ll drive you home.”

  
He makes a face.

  
“What, why?!”

  
“Because you’re in no condition to walk! When’s the last time you slept?!”

  
He almost looks offended by the accusation, but a slight flush has crept across his cheeks, indicating that Hux has won the argument and that he’s only being difficult for the sake of his pride.

  
Hux sighs sympathetically, and places a gentle hand on the other man’s shoulder, causing him to flinch.

  
“So what’s going on?”

  
Ren stammers incoherently for a few moments, backing up a bit, before finally managing to answer with a lame,  
“Nothing, the dog’s just been keeping me up.”

Hux purses his lips at that. “And here I thought it was something serious.” He muses, though it’s obvious Ren is just trying to keep him from worrying. It's at that moment that he throws the employee handbook out the window and places a steadying hand against the other man's shoulder and leans up to press a kiss to his temple, noting the mild warmth there. “Regardless, you’re sleep deprived, and I don’t trust you to make it home safely.”

Ren pouts a little at that, but nods, in much the way a kid would after being scolded.

  
“Okay.”

  
Hux pats him on the shoulder gently again, and pulls away after a moment.

  
“We’ll stop by Mcdonalds or something on the way. You need to eat.”

  
Ren nods almost guiltily at that, and gives a sheepish half smile.

  
“Sure...just uh...let me clock out.”

  
“I’ll be in the car.” Hux muses, pulling his apron off to hang. “Then we’ll get food, and go to _my_ place, where the dog can’t keep you up all night. How’s that sound?”

  
Ren makes a pitiful choking noise, which Hux interprets as a rather amusing yes, but speaks no real words as he instead sprints off to go clock out.

  
With one final thought, Hux smirks and calls through the door, “Oh, and don’t think you’re getting paid for that last half hour!”

  
Ren reacts in a predictably whiny fashion as he pops his head back through and calls, “ _But Huxxx_!”

  
Not hearing any of it, the redhead is already up and out the backdoor before the puppy eyes can further shatter his resolve.

  
Good managers don’t pick favorites.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to like or Kudos if you enjoyed, or find me at kevin-the-chicken.tumblr.com


End file.
